Shower stall



SHOWER STALL Filed July 14, 1 937 2 Sheets-Sheet l fzz/fz Gasiqf Qlz'zz M2500,

G. A. NILSON SHOWER STALL Sept. 19, 1939.

Filed July 14, 1937 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 fizz/621257 as g @fiirz [Vi Z5072] I i ifi/ww y Patented Sept. 19, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 8 Claims.

The present invention relates to shower stalls and more particularly to those shower stalls in which the side walls are made of sheet metal and are assembled upon a base or receptor to provide .5 shower enclosures.

' These shower stalls are of such a nature that they are best shipped in a knocked down condition and assembled on the job at the place where they are to be installed. Since the individual .10 installations differ widely in the positioning of the shower stall with respect to the room or enclosure in which the stall is to be located and with respect to the Water supply system, the matter of providing a particular jobber or supply house with the necessary parts to fit various installations is difiicult. I have found, however, that for most installations the valve inlets through the sheet metal walls of the shower stall may be made through either the right hand or left hand side of the stall.

The jobber, however, cannot tell in advance how to order because he has no means of determining how many installations will require valves on the left hand side, and how many will require valves on the right hand side of the shower stall. He, therefore, has to carry an excessive number of side walls in stock and in addition care must be exercised in each case to supply the person installing the shower with the correct side walls for his particular case. This difficulty could be overcome by placing the valve inlets in the back wall of the stall. However, this is not practical because one using the shower then has to reach across the stall to the back in order to regulate the water supply. In doing this, the Water from the shower head cannot be avoided successfully.

With the valves at the side near the front of the stall, the valves can be operated without the necessity of stepping inside the stall.

One purpose of the present invention is to provide a shower stall structure in which the side walls are so formed as to facilitate the assembly of the shower stall with any set of parts regardless of whether the right hand or left hand side 45 wall is to be used for the entry of the control valves.

The invention further contemplates the provision of a shower stall of this character in which no visible openings will be left when the stall is completed.

Another purpose of the present invention is to provide a shower stall structure in which the front panels are adapted particularly for the installation of tile facing at the sides of the door opening into the shower stall and over this opening. My improved construction is such as to facilitate the mounting of lath at the opposite sides of the door to receive the plaster for holding tile in place. Furthermore, the construction contemplated and disclosed herein provides improvements in the stiles and the head rail for the door by which the adjacent edges of the tile are overlapped and covered by the stiles and head rail so as to leave no possibility of cracks, between the stiles and head rail on the one hand and the tile on the other hand, presenting an unsightly appearance.

Other and more detailed features and advantages of the invention will appear as the description proceeds in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred form of the invention is shown. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings and description are illustrative only and are not to be taken as limiting the invention except in so far as it is limited by the claims.

In the drawings- Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the manner in which a side wall may be used either in right hand or left hand position.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the shower stall showing how the side walls and back wall are assembled.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section through a side wall illustrating one form of attachment for the shower nozzle.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view like Fig. 3 illustrating another form of attachment for the shower nozzle.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 55 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a front view with certain parts broken away of the shower stall showing how the door stiles may be joined by tile laid over the front panels.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing the upper left hand corner construction or" the stall shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken on the line 9-9 of Fig. 6.

Referring now in detail to the drawings and particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, the shower stall is shown as composed of a base or receptor It which may be constructed of concrete or similar material. The receptor has a wall supporting ledge 12 which has embedded therein a metal strip ii that extends along the sides and back of the receptor and inwardly at the front thereof a short distance so as to leave only the ledge 12 at the entrance to the shower stall. The strip ll projects above the receptor and is apertured for the reception of bolts l3 by which side panels I4 and I5 and a back panel it are secured to the receptor. The side panels are bent inwardly at the front of the receptor and formed. to provide front panels ll and I8 defining the entrance to the shower stall. At their rear vertical edges, the side panels l4 and !5 are bent back upon themselves, as shown at 59 and 25, to provide channels adapted to receive flanges 2| and 22 formed on the back panel It. The shower stall is quickly assembled by setting up the side panels upon the receptor and within the upstanding portion of the strip H and thereafter shoving the back panel in place against the back part of the strip H with the flanges 2i and 22 fitting in the grooves at the back edges of the side panels. The side panels are provided with apertures 23 at both the top and bottom edges for the reception of the securing bolts l3. Half the side panels are also provided midway between the top and bottom thereof with valve stem receiving openings 24 and 25 through which valve stems Z5 and 21 may be inserted in order to provide necessary water controls for hot and cold water to the shower.

In order to adapt the shower for either right hand or left hand supply of water, the side panels l4 and 55 can be assembled with the panel having the openings 24 and 25 on either the right hand side or left hand side as desired. To do this, it is only necessary to invert the side panels and place them on the other side in order to change the right hand water supply to a left hand water supply.

The shower nozzle 23 is not carried through an opening in a side panel. It is mounted upon the top edge of one of the side panels and extended down into the stall, as shown best by Figs. 3 and 4. In Fig. 3, an angle bar 29 is mounted on top of the panel l5, and a bracket 30 carrying the shower nozzle 28 is secured upon the angle bar 29 by suitable screw bolts 3| and a second angle bar 32. The angle bar 32 is held by the bolts 3| in such a'position as to clamp the top edge of the panel l5 between its vertical flange and the vertical flange of the bar 29. If desired, the portions 23 and 32 may extend full width of the side edge from the back panel l5. They also cover the openings 23, as shown in Fig. 3.

An alternative method of mounting the shower nozzle 28 is shown in Fig. 4. In this form, the shower nozzle is" provided with a U-shaped bracket 30 which fits over the'top edge of the panel l5. In order to cover the openings 23 and provide a better finish, I may also employ a narrow channel bar 33 fitting down over the top edge of the panel !5. For securing the bracket 30' in place, a set screw 34 threaded into the bracket and pressing upon the channel bar 33 may be used.

Referring now to Figs. 6 to 9, inclusive, these figures illustrate the manner in which the front panels 33 and 34, stiles 35 and 36, and head rail 3'! at the entrance to the shower stall may be utilized in finishing the stall construction by applying tile over the front panels 33 and 34. In this construction, a modified form of front panel is used, such as shown in detail in cross section in Fig. 9 at 34. This front panel necessitates the side walls [4 and I5 being formed, as shown, with an inturned vertical flange 38 and a securing flange 39 having a vertically running V-shaped rib 45 extending along side the side panel. The rib 45 secures a vertically running flange 4| on the front panel 34, and the front panel is then extended diagonally at 42 from the side panel l5 across an inturned portion 43 of the flange 38 so as to provide a smooth interior construction. In order to secure the front panel 34 to the receptor flange H, the receptor flange is connected with a channel iron indicated at 44 which projects forward and provides for attachment of the front panel 34. It is to be understood that front panels 33 and 34 are attached to the receptor flange I l in the same fashion.

The front panels 34 and 35 have stile mounting flanges 45 and 46, and the stiles as shown are formed with ribs 41 and 48 which are secured to the flanges 45 and 46 by suitable screws as indicated at 49 and 5B in Fig. 9. Screws 49 also mount vertically running angles 5| which are adapted to receive and have secured thereto suitable metal lath indicated at 52. This lath may be of any suitable type, the usual expanded metal lath being quite satisfactory for my purpose. This lath has a tile facing 53 secured thereto by the usual cement 54, and the tile extend beneath a front flange 55 of the stiles 35 and 36 so that, for any expansion and contraction that may take place, no crack will appear between the stile and the tile that would show the cement joint at the edge of the stile.

The stiles 35 and 36 are joined to the head rail 31 by a lug 56 which is angular in form and. extends down between the ribs 41 and 4B and the inner face of the stile and extends horizontally between corresponding ribs 51 and 58 of the head rail 3'5 and the lower face of the head rail. Suitable screws indicated at 53 secure the stiles and the head rail to the lug 56.

In order to mount the tile 53 upon the head rail Sll, this rail is provided with a metal strip 60 secured to the rib 31. A lath mounting angle 6| rests upon the strip 60. The usual cement or plaster is shown at 62 for securing the tile 53 in place over the head rail 51. It will be noted here that the head rail 39 has a front flange 63 which overlaps the tile 53 so as to cover up the cement joint at the head rail. The flange 58 of the head rail supports a flange 64 formed upon a cover panel 55 for the shower stall thus completing the enclosure of the stall in this manner.

From the above description, it is believed that the construction and advantages of this device will be readily apparent to those skilled in this art.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A shower stall comprising a receptor, side wall panels and a rear wall panel providing a stall over said receptor, said rear panel being interlocked at the corners with the side panels, said side panels having duplicate top and bottom edge portions, and one of said side panels having a valve receiving opening therein whereby the side panels may be interchanged from side to side to adapt the shower stall for receiving water supply from either side.

2. A shower stall comprising a receptor, side wall panels and a rear wall panel on said receptor, means securing said panels to said receptor, said rear panel being interlocked at the corners with the side panels, said side panels having duplicate top and bottom edge portions, and one of said side panels having valve receiving openings therein whereby the side panels may be interchanged from side to side to adapt the shower stall for receiving water supply'from either side, and a shower nozzle mounting for said stall comprising a bar assembly for gripping the top edge of one of said side panels, a bracket secured to said bar assembly and having a shower nozzle mounted thereon.

3. A shower stall comprising a receptor, side wall panels and a rear wall panel on said receptor, means securing said panels to said re- ,ceptor, said rear panel being interlocked at the corners with the side panels, said side panels having duplicate top and bottom edge portions, and one of said side panels having valve receiving openings therein whereby the side panels may be interchanged from side to side to adapt the shower stall for receiving water supply from either side, and a shower nozzle support comprising a channeled member mounted on the top edge of one of said side panels and a bracket having a U-shaped portion fitting over said channeled member and secured thereto, said bracket carrying a shower nozzle.

4. A wall structure for shower stalls comprising side wall panels and a rear wall panel, said side panels having duplicate top and bottom edge portions and duplicate rear edge portions adapted to engage with said rear wall and complete the stall, one of said side walls having a valve receiving opening substantially midway between the top and bottom edges thereof.

5. A wall structure for shower stalls comprising side wall panels and a rear wall panel, said side panels having duplicate top and bottom edge portions and duplicate rear edge portions adapted to engage with said rear wall and complete the stall, one of said side walls having a valve receiving opening substantially midway between the top and bottom edges thereof, and a shower nozzle mounting for said stall comprising a bar extending over the top edge of one of said side panels, and secured thereto, a bracket carried by said bar and a shower nozzle carried by said bracket.

6. A wall structure for shower stalls comprising side wall panels and a rear wall panel, said side panels having duplicate top and bottom edge portions and duplicate rear edge portions adapted to engage with said rear wall and complete the stall, one of said side walls having a valve receiving opening substantially midway between the top and bottom edges thereof, and a shower nozzle support comprising a channeled member 5 fitting over the top edge of one of said side panels and a bracket secured to said channeled member and carrying a shower nozzle.

7. A shower stall comprising a receptor, side wall panels and a rear wall panel on said re- 10 ceptor, said panels having apertures adjacent their lower edges and screws passing through said apertures to secure said panels to said receptor, said side panels having duplicate interlocking means at the edges thereof adjacent the rear 15 panel for interlocking with the rear panel and said side panels having their top edge portions duplicating their bottom edge portions and provided with apertures to receive the securing screws and one of said side panels having valve 20 receiving openings therein whereby the side panels may be interchanged from side to side to adapt the shower stall for receiving water from either side.

8. A shower stall comprising a receptor, side 5 wall panels and a rear wall panel on said receptor, said panels having apertures adjacent their lower edges and screws passing through said apertures to secure said panels to said receptor, said side panels having duplicate interlocking 30 means at the edges thereof adjacent the rear panel for interlocking with the rear panel and said side panels having their top edge portions duplicating their bottom edge portions and provided with apertures to receive the securing screws and one of said side panels having valve receiving openings therein whereby the side panels may be interchanged from side to side to adapt the shower stall for receiving water from either side, and a shower nozzle mounting for said stall comprising a channeled member adapted to receive the top edge of one of said panels and overlap the openings therein, said channel member having means to secure a shower nozzle thereon.

GUSTAF ALBIN NILSON. 

